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Binoviewers - Antares, Revelation or WO ???

hozepipe

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hozepipe

hozepipe

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Hi

Guys, I'm after a Binoviewer wondered what the best performance/value set is to buy?

Antares set with 2x20mm and 2x6mm Antares EPs plus a case for £119

Revelation (Telescope House) set (looks the same unit as Antares) but with one, two or three pairs of Mead standard Plossls for £119, £139 and £179 respectively.

William Optics set with 2 Swan 20mm EPs for £179

The WO ones look a differrent unit (may just be cosmetic) , I'd rather buy the better ones if possible.

What's the verdict on these three, anyone compared them??

I'll be using them in an ED80 and an ETX90

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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I've used the revelation binoviewers with an ed80 before and whilst i personally didn't get on with them they were well made and optically nothing to complain about for the price. I've also used a pair of denk II's and they were something different but quite expensive. Personally i think that the WO set gives the best value for money as the SWAN's are decent enough eyepieces whilst the plossls are nothing to write home about. If you can buy a set with NO eyepieces for cheaper that might be the best bet and then use your own eyepieces.

One thing to note is that I needed a barlow element with the ED80 to achieve focus and this changes which eyepieces you might want to use.

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hozepipe

hozepipe

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I don't have many EPs - and no pairs yet obviously - which is why I wondered which would be the best Set.

Actually the Antares have sold out now unfortunately so their out of the running.

But apparently the WO bino works with the ED80 without a barlow I think - unless it's built in to the barrel?

I wanted to know if the WO binoviewer is different or better than the antares/revelation/etc clone?

I could just buy the Binoviewers on their own and buy two pairs of half-decent EPs - like the Antares maybe?

cheers

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FLO

FLO

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Coincidentally, Auntie FLO has been looking into which is the best (price/performance) binoviewer to stock.

As far as I can tell, all the binoviewers you mention are essentially the same. I had one of the early units to test (pre-FLO) and wasn't impressed. It was difficult to the point of frustration to align the eyepieces precisely so that the images merged. This was attributed to the eyepiece holders which used simple/cheap thumbscrew that push directly against the eyepiece barrel. The eyepieces simply weren't held securely enough for accurate alignment.

Since then, I have noticed that both Williams Optics and Stellarvue offer the unit with improved eyepiece holders that use anti-marring brass compression rings that grip the eyepiece around its full circumference - much better.

Hope that helps :)

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hozepipe

hozepipe

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Yes - I'm a bit confused with the whole EP/focal ratio thing.

I'm going to have an f7 ED80 - would that be classed a rich feild scope? - and the ETX90 which is f12.5 I think I need to be carefull about EP selection.

I've just received a Hyperion 21mm as a replacement for the standard Mead 26mm Plossl - looks a really nicely made EP and HUGE, but so far I'm not impressed by it in the ETX. Wondering if this is a focal ratio thing? Eye placement is extremely critical in the Hyperion (which is contradictory to the blub that I read on it before buying!) making it very fussy to view through compared to the Mead which just seems to work in the ETX. The field is wider in the Hyperion but you can't 'look arround' the field without blackouts and all sorts of nonsense happening. Maybe in the ED80 it'll be better??

Back to the Binos - I'd like to have a set that works well in BOTH scopes - is this an unrealistic expectation?

The experiance with the Hyperion is making me a lot more cautious!

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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If I may say so, an excellent query I've never thought of before, HP. Luckily I've never had a high FOV EP!! I don't get the hype about 88* FOVs, because you can't even take in that much with one eye. So is your EP choice restricted by what focal ratio your scope(s) have? If you have an f/14 mak and an f/5 newt, do you have to have two sets of EPs?

Andrew

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Saso

Saso

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I prefer WO binos because they use brass rings for mounting eyepieces. Relevation, Burgess, Antares use only two or three screws. Because of that I buy StelarVue bino. This bino works on ED80 but I must use Barlow lens otherwise I can't reach focus.

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hozepipe

hozepipe

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I prefer WO binos because they use brass rings for mounting eyepieces. Relevation, Burgess, Antares use only two or three screws. Because of that I buy StelarVue bino. This bino works on ED80 but I must use Barlow lens otherwise I can't reach focus.

Hmm - does the WO come with a barlow or is that extra? The guy I'm buying my ED80 from has a pair of WO binos and said they work without any adaptor both striaight through and with a diagonal. So I'm wondering if he was using an included barlow or not?

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hozepipe

hozepipe

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Ah right - Just had a look at the SV binos - they are the same as the Antares/Revelation but have compression ring EP holders. I guess teh WO is the one to buy then as I know it works in the ED80 and has the compression rings (and two swan EPs to boot)

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